


i require assistance

by cyndrat



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Background Case, Connor is a good kid, Connor is helpful, Detectives, Family Feels, Gen, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Good Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank is everyone's dad, Happy Ending, Kidnapping, Minimal editing, Minor Injuries, Original Character(s), POV Original Character, Post-Canon, Post-Game(s), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Tags Are Hard, Threats of Violence, in that it's vaguely a crossover with an original (unpublished) work, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-07 01:53:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16399169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyndrat/pseuds/cyndrat
Summary: (OC based story...)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the idea occurred to me, as I was torturing this particular OC in her own world, that it could be fun to toss her into this world and hurt (physically/mentally/emotionally) her here. of course, in her own story, she was getting tossed into other worlds/realities anyways, so what's one more that won't be included in the original story but will serve as further practice and character development?!  
> anyways, Rheesa's a sweetheart who tends to get a little too focused on her responsibilities and forgets to properly let herself feel her own feelings so I thought it'd be interesting to shove her beside someone is also struggling through their own feelings, albeit for different reasons.

It's dark when Rheesa wakes up, mouth dry and head aching. Well no, it isn't necessarily dark - her face is tucked against her upper arm, most of the room blocked from her view. But why is her face- huh, this really is a strange position to be in, isn't it? Sitting on the floor, one shoulder leaned against a cupboard or something, forehead pillowed on arm, wrists- Wrists encircled in cool metal, suspended above her head.

  
_WRONG_ , her senses scream at her, and she lifts her heavy head at the same time as she hears a muffled vocalization. This is wrong, something is wrong, but she can't think what she's doing here in an unknown kitchen, in handcuffs looped around the handle of a dishwasher unit. Blinking twice, she turns, the movement tugging at her trapped hands. She catches sight of a person - two people, both presenting as masculine - across the open plan kitchen-dining room, table and chairs shoved carefully against a wall. The scene - one person clearly restrained, the other looming despite no height difference - is cause for concern, even if she can't quite remember getting into this situation. Wait… she recognizes the one person, the one who's cuffed to one of several exposed pipes on the wall, pale blue dress shirt ripped open, dark brown hair a dishevelled mop that doesn't entirely obscure a small red light on his temple.

  
"Connor," she breathes, and memories crash down as if abruptly unlocked by the name-

  
_-the RK800 paired with her as backup-_

_  
-asking around about "concerns raised by residents of the neighbourhood-_

_  
-keeping an eye on one certain house (address 1320 S Bassett St) until someone came home-_

_  
-ringing the doorbell of 1320-"DPD, we just have a few questions regarding a current case sir…"-_

_  
-hearing a shriek, entering the house on suspicion of a kidnapped child-_

_  
-getting grabbed by a second, unknown suspect-_

_  
-a gun to her head, used as leverage to make Connor stand down-_

  
The man who is their second unknown and unexpected suspect is standing close to Connor now, closer than Rheesa is comfortable with considering the way he's fiddling with a dark rod and running a finger down the synthskin of the android's chest. Connor flinches half-heartedly where he hangs as an access port whirrs open, revealing part of his inner workings to the air. The man says something to Connor, with no visible reaction, then jams the rod into the access port. The android jerks forwards, then settles back against the wall again, shaking and spasming.

  
"The hell'd you do to him?" Rheesa shouts, forgetting the specifics of her position for a moment and jolting forward herself, the cuffs biting into her wrists a sharp reminder of her pitiful range of movement. The man spins around, looking surprised for just a moment that she's awake. He pats Connor's shoulder without looking away from her - missing the twist of the android's face, a vicious expression clearly aimed at the back of his head - then swaggers across the room.

  
She squares her shoulders as best she can, staring him down as he approaches and crouches just out of kicking range. "Don't worry sweetheart, it's still in one piece," he says with a snicker. Oh boy. This isn't simply her child kidnapper taking out the two cops who came knocking, this is someone who seems to be anti-android. He stands, sighs in satisfaction, and smirks down at her. "Scream if it shuts down, would ya? Oh, and- don't go anywhere." A chuckle at the stupid joke bubbles out of his throat as he turns and leaves the room.

  
The front door creaks open and slams shut a few seconds later, and Rheesa peels her gaze from the empty doorway to focus on Connor. His expression is less defiant now, and more distressed as his chin dips down to his collarbones. "Hey, hey Connor," she calls out, and his head raises. His LED is flickering red. "You going to go into shutdown or stasis any time soon?" She doesn't want to think about that, but the man had implied shutdown or something similar was possible. Connor shakes his head.

  
"Not for a couple hours. It just-" He pauses, scrunches his face up. "It hurts? I'm not sure, I-I don't feel pain, I _shouldn’t_ , but…" He makes a distressed sound, shoulders thumping against the wall.

  
"Oh honey," Rheesa mumbles, leaning forwards. But her movement is still restricted, and she can't do anything- She frowns, leans back and looks at the cuffs, _properly_ looks.

  
They're her own damn set.

  
She _can_ do something. "Hold on just a minute, alright? I'll be over there shortly." She ignores the confused scrunch of Connor's eyebrows and shifts her weight, getting her legs underneath her. From there, it's easy enough to push her body up just a little and pull down the collar of her sweater. Their suspects may have removed her coat and her badge and phone from her pockets, but they probably didn't think she'd have a key for her cuffs hiding in the centre gore of her bra. She's sure Connor is immensely confused as she tilts her elbow up to shove one hand down the front of her sweater, but it doesn't matter because she's got the little key snug between two fingers. After that it's the work of a few seconds to unlock the cuffs. She tucks them in a pocket and stands, working past the stiffness in her legs because Connor had sounded uncertain… almost scared.

  
She staggers across the room to him, seeing her stuff in a pile on a side table. She leans against the wall beside Connor, blinking away the spinning feeling. "Still doing okay?"

  
The android manages a small nod, and she lifts her gaze from his face up towards his caught hands. Now that she's close enough to touch, Rheesa can see that whatever the man had used to restrain Connor is not the standard set of cuffs the DPD uses, or even the android version that's been recently developed. It's something different, a dark shiny strip of metal wound several times around the android's wrists and up over the exposed pipe to pull him onto his toes. It looks uncomfortable even without considering the bar shoved into Connor's insides.

  
"What do I do?" she asks, voice low even though she's confident there's currently no one in the house. "How do I…"

  
"Pull the…" He winces, body tensing. He gasps a breath in through clenched teeth then speaks again, the words coming out in a rush. "Getitout."

  
Rheesa looks down to where panels of Connor's chassis are retracted, a rainbow of wires and tubing exposed that shouldn't be - down to the dark rod, maybe five inches long that's sticking out of the chest cavity. There are sparks lighting where the rod touches Connor's wiring, and she knows more than enough about androids to know that that? That's not good. She licks her lips, takes a breath. "Okay, I'm just going to-" She reaches out and grabs the end of the rod, feeling a zap when she touches it. Connor draws in a ragged breath and Rheesa yanks, pulling the rod out quickly. And then she drops it, because it zaps her again the moment it's no longer in contact with his body.

  
"Th-thank you for the-the assistance Detective," Connor says, his voice rough around the words.

  
“Not finished yet," she replies, focusing above the android's head again. "Have you called this in?" His LED cycles yellow instead of that awful red, and Rheesa reaches up, running a finger along the metal restraining him. It's solid to the touch, and it doesn't give when she grabs hold and tries to shape it. Well, she's got no idea how that guy got it twisted around Connor's wrists and the pipe then.

  
"Yes, I have contacted both Lieutenant Anderson and Officer Miller."

  
Rheesa follows the strip of metal with her fingers, trying to determine if there's some sort of latch. "Just to be clear, we're thinking the same thing, right? Richardson is my guy, the other one…"

  
"Is the perpetrator in Hank's most recent case, yes I agree. The use of this metal matches traces that were present on the scenes of two other incidents he's been investigating. If I could-" Connor moves, jerking at his wrists and accomplishing nothing. His LED flickers red as he pulls again, changing the angle as much as he can. "I require assistance," he observes, almost sounding put out.

  
"No kidding, but I don't think we should wait for that guy to come back."

  
"No no, I just need- I should be able to release myself, I just can't seem to find the right angle." Rheesa steps back, watching him try again. The way the toe of one of his shoes slides against the floor gives her an idea.

  
"Stop for a moment?" she suggests, hurrying to the perpendicular wall where the dining table and chairs are. She grabs one of the chairs - it looks like a fairly sturdy thing, with a good weight to it - and walks back, setting it on the ground as close to Connor as it can be. "Here, I'll lift you a little so you can stand on the chair. Then you'll probably be fine on your own." He nods, and she wraps her arms around his waist, only noticing the Thirium smeared on his lower abdomen a second before she presses against his body. Had she failed to notice an injury? or was that simply some effect of that taser-like bar? She'll ask about injuries after Connor's free.

  
She lifts the android, grunting in surprise at his weight. He's heavier than she would have expected from his body shape, though it isn't so strange when she considers that everything about him was designed and that he has wires and plastimetal biocomponents instead of fleshy organs within his chassis. She widens her stance and raises him a little higher, turning so he can bend his knees and step on the chair.

  
"Ah. Thank you," Connor says, and she takes a half step back, keeping one arm wrapped loosely around him, because if she's misjudged his weight, the chair may not hold him as well as she'd assumed.

  
He pats her shoulder seconds later, and she looks up, seeing that the exposed pipe is bent just a little, and the strip of dark metal is in Connor's other hand, bent quite a bit more but no longer wrapped around his wrists. Rheesa steps back, watching for a moment to ensure he's steady as he steps down off the chair, then she turns and heads to the side table, grabbing her coat out of the pile it'd been dropped in. "Are you hurt at all?" she asks, falling quiet to give him a chance to respond while she pulls her coat on.

  
"Not significantly," comes his answer after a brief hesitation that she presumes indicates the running of a diagnostic.  
Rheesa shoves her belongings back into her pockets, turning around to fix her eyes on Connor. "There's absolutely nothing that will affect your movement or basic processes?"

  
The LED flickers yellow, and the android's gaze is steady but she still suspects he hasn't given her the full truth yet. Connor rolls his shoulders back as a delay before answering. "All systems are operating within optimal ranges, and there is no-" He pauses, looks away from Rheesa. "The garage door is opening."

  
She hurries forward, grabs his arm, and moves towards the back door. "If your status changes, tell me. Come on." Rheesa leads the way across the room, letting go of Connor when it becomes clear that he's not going to resist her vague plan. At least not yet. “You able to lock this from the other side?” she asks, nodding down at the lock on the sliding door as she flicks the switch and drags the door open.

  
“Probably,” comes the answer, a lot less certain sounding than she's come to expect from the RK androids. “That will depend on how well it's been kept.”

  
Rheesa steps out into the cold air, shivering briefly. “Then I guess we'll see.” Connor follows her outside, stepping aside as she pulls the door closed again. She hurries along the exterior wall of the house as he reaches to the door handle and the digipanel beside it, synthskin peeling away from his fingers. She can literally see the heat rising from his white chassis.

  
“Locked,” he reports after a second, turning to join her away from the door. Rheesa reaches out to grab the collar of his jacket and tugs him a little farther, settling them both close to the wall while still out of view from the glass sliding door and the window in the kitchen.

  
In the moment that she releases him, she notes the smooth expanse of the visible synthskin of his chest. “Do up your damn shirt already!” she hisses, pulling the edges of his dress shirt close together and starting to work on lining up the top button and buttonhole. “You're gonna get co-” She stops speaking, rolling her eyes at the soft smirk on Connor’s face.

  
Rheesa huffs, letting go of the fabric. If the kid’s going to sass her, even silently, he can do it all himself.

  
“Watch out,” he murmurs suddenly, pressing down on her shoulder, his attention laser focused somewhere other than his shirt, though he does finish doing up the last few buttons. She flattens her back against the wall, looking toward the kitchen window and catching sight, briefly, of a shadow before it moves. "Alexander Harris, property damage charges beginning 2035 through late 2038, involved in various anti-android protests within the last 19 months, no charges of murder or human assault," Connor says softly, LED flickering on the edge of her vision. Rheesa bites back a curse and grabs his arm, pulling him another full step away from the window.

  
"Hank’s right, you really _don't_ have very good self preservation instincts," she says, deciding to keep her hold on the android this time in case he tries to do something different and just as stupid. "You've ID’d him, Hank and Chris’ll be here soon. Let's go, the fence has a shitty gate on this side."

  
"Yes, but given the amount of ice on the railing, you will not be able to climb over the side of the porch without a high likelihood of injury." Rheesa stares at him, waiting for him to continue - because she senses an upcoming 'but'. "The stairs have been regularly de-iced this season, but they are in full view of the sliding back door."

  
Ok, that is a pretty significant 'but'. "What's your solution then?"

  
"I re-enter the house," Connor offers without missing a beat. He's already calculated it and decided that this is what he wants to do, she can see it in the set of his brows. Prick. "If you remain on the exterior Detective, Harris will be unable to use you as leverage as he did before, allowing me to efficiently subdue him with nonexistent danger to you."

  
"No, you aren't going in alone. How come the androids listed in the case file didn't fight back, hm? Either they all really trusted this guy, or they physically couldn't fight him. Which is more likely?" Three androids, one of them a police model, all somehow trusting someone like Harris and not fighting what had been done to them? If that's the case, Rheesa will kiss Reed.  
Yeah, she's confident that is never going to happen.

  
"Oh."

  
"How about-" She's interrupted by a click as the sliding door is unlocked. "Behind me," she bites out, grabbing her gun from her hip. Connor slides around her, and then she's between the android and Harris as he steps out onto the back porch, his frown shifting into a smirk.

  
"I didn't figure you'd stick around," he says brightly, almost entirely ignoring Rheesa as he looks over her shoulder at Connor.

  
“None of us are staying much longer,” she replies shortly. “Alexander Harris, you’re under arrest for the assault of three androids, and two police officers. You-” She's cut off, again, by the sound of banging on the front door that seems to shake the whole house, and especially the still open sliding door. In the instant that she takes to glance in through the window beside her, Harris moves, advancing on them and bringing one hand into view, some sort of old-looking remote held carefully in his hand. “Don't move!” She takes a step back and raises her gun a little more, knowing that they're even more so backed into the corner of the porch now, just as she knows that the chances of her needing to shoot Harris are rising with every movement he makes.

  
“Det-detective,” Connor stutters from behind her, shaking fingers wrapping tightly around her arm, and she knows that whatever damage Harris meant to do with that remote has already begun.

  
Connor drops his other hand on her opposite shoulder, holding onto her tighter than usual, and she gets the distinct impression that he's using her to help him stay upright. That's not a good sign, and it means that she's acquiring additional weight on her back with every second that Connor is affected.

  
“I had to go out and alter this, just for that model behind you. I don't even know what the fuck it is!” Rheesa decides that Harris sounds far too gleeful about the idea of attacking androids, and now she really wants to put him away, but she can't think of a way to get him arrested and keep both herself and Connor uninjured, because when Harris raised the remote she'd also caught sight of a flash of metal in his waistband that has to be the gun he'd threatened her with earlier. And she can feel Connor leaning more of his weight on her, though he probably doesn't realize it. He'll just be deadweight before long.

  
“ _Detroit Police,_ ” comes a shout, muted though it is through the house, and the front door slams open moments later, shaking the house again.

  
Rheesa holds off on breathing a sigh of relief. Harris hasn't shown any indication that he's going to give in yet, and he jabs at a few buttons on the remote then grabs his own gun.

  
Connor abruptly collapses, his hands still clamped onto her, and she stumbles to the porch floor with him as he goes down. The snow beneath her knees has an icy crust that almost hurts on impact, and the android’s weight feels like it's more than half on her, dragging her torso backwards- But none of that affects her nearly as much as the cold smile on Harris’ face as he steps closer, levelling his gun at her head. _That_ sends a chill down her spine.

  
The only thought that comes to her as consolation is that, as far as the police database knows, Harris has never killed anyone. Even the androids he'd kidnapped and screwed with had been found functional, or at least for the two who were not immediately functional, reactivation had been possible without the requirement of lengthy repairs beforehand.

  
“Harris, you don't need to-,” she starts, slow and calm, but there are heavy, hurried footsteps in the house, and Lieutenant Anderson steps into view, his own DPD issue gun aimed at Harris.

  
“Put the gun and the device down, Alexander Harris,” Anderson growls, his eyes having flicked to Rheesa and Connor only once before focusing entirely on Harris. “Put em down, and get your hands behind your back. You're done here.”

  
Snow crunches behind Rheesa, and she twists to look, trusting Hank to keep Harris under control. She sees Conan, icy gaze and gun fixed on Harris above the porch railing. To someone who doesn't know him, she's sure he looks the pinnacle of Intimidating with his black and white CyberLife jacket and all, and the apparent expression on his face is indifference, a cold neutrality that serves to make him appear deadlier.

  
She can tell he's concerned though, the corners of his lips turned down and nostrils flaring as he takes simulated breaths that he frequently chooses to forgo.

  
“I recommend that you comply with Lieutenant Anderson’s instructions,” he says, voice level.

  
Rheesa looks back to Harris, who has gone pale as he glances between Conan and Connor. Perhaps he's finally realized just what a prize Connor might have been, and just how fucked he is now, considering Connor had suffered no blocks to his communication and had been able to call up his partner and brother.

  
Caught between the threats of a police lieutenant and CyberLife’s most prestigious android (though mostly known only through association with Connor), Harris slowly bends down, setting his gun and the remote on the tamped down snow, barely looking away from Conan. He straightens, and Hank moves in immediately, setting his own gun away and whipping out his cuffs.

  
Rheesa finally breathes deeply as Harris is restrained. This has been a more stressful day than most.

  
“Are you injured?” Conan has moved around the side of the porch, his eyes on Hank and Harris, but his attention is nearly equally split.

  
“I'm fine, Connor is…” Rheesa sets her own gun down on the ground and reaches up to start prying Connor’s fingers from the shoulder of her coat. “I'm not entirely sure, though he had said all systems were functioning within optimal ranges when we stepped out of the house.” She frees her shoulder, and that's enough to allow her to turn around, plopping her butt down on the cold floor.

  
Connor is blinking rapidly, LED flickering red-red-red just as fast. He's still otherwise - too still, like he's frozen.

  
“Lieutenant,” Rheesa says sharply, twisting around again. “That remote-device-thing, it's doing something to Connor.” Harris looks like he wants to chuckle evilly, but he glances to Conan and that look disappears pretty quick.

  
“Mr. Harris,” Conan says, his voice silky while his pale eyes sharpen.

  
“The- the m-middle top button,” the man stutters. Rheesa slips her arm from Connor’s non responsive fingers and shuffles forward on her knees until she can reach the device. She locks eyes with Harris and presses the button he’d indicated. Hank makes a pleased sound.

  
Connor speaks up immediately, his voice thin and a little staticky. “I-I'm o-”

  
“Can it kid,” Hank orders him, but the Lieutenant is wearing a faint smile. “Conan, help them to the front. I'll take care of this.” Conan hops up the stairs, leaning down to grab the device while Hank turns Harris and marches him back through the house. The device disappears into a fair sized pocket, then Conan reaches down, grasping Rheesa’s arm. He pulls her up, then she turns to Connor once again, who is staring at his hands, holding them up in front of his face while they tremble.

  
“I th-think I need help,” he says, and the words sound so small that Rheesa is struck with a sudden urge to wrap him up in a hug and a blanket. She tamps it down as soon as she recognizes it, and instead steps forwards with Conan. They help Connor to his feet together, one on each side, and it's a good arrangement because when Connor starts to walk towards the door his steps are unsteady and he sways forward. “Detective Smith?” She makes an encouraging sound, staying close beside him while Conan wraps an arm around his waist. “You requested that I inform you if- if my status changes. My status has changed.”

  
“No kidding, kid.” She shakes her head, finding herself smiling despite the situation.

  
“I,” Connor says as they step into the house, and Rheesa closes the sliding door. Connor swings out an arm, patting her back before she turns about and the three of them walk through the house, moving past Chris Miller and Wendy Patel with a quick nod as they work through the house. “I want you to know that… that I appreciate you. You're a, a uh, you're a good one.” She nods, agreeing for the sake of keeping him content.

  
“Connor, are you sure you're okay?” Conan asks, brow furrowed as he watches his brother carefully, steering his wavering steps around bits of furniture on the way to the front door.

  
Connor blinks at Conan. “I'm- am great. I'm superb. I just… I really like you, you're great. We're both great. So’s Detet-detective Smith! We're all great.”

  
Rheesa laughs, holding the front door open for the androids. “Go home Connor, you're drunk,” she mutters, and Hank is apparently close enough to hear, because he roars in laughter. The cool air fights embarrassment for what can make her blush, and Connor looks absolutely enthralled with the pink in her cheeks even while Conan is trying to get him down the steps to the sidewalk.

  
“You're going pink,” Connor observes brightly, swaying towards her and reaching towards ear face. “And I'm not drunk Detetive, while some androids can consume alcoholic beverages, no amount will have the same effect on an android that humans derive from the activity.”

  
“Oh my god Hank,” Rheesa says, leaning away from Connor and directing him down the steps - maaybe nudging him a little harder than necessary. He turns to keep her face in his visual range, twisting his torso. Conan frowns at the added difficulty. “Have you ever seen him like this before? Yes Connor dear, I know you can't get drunk, but that's the closest common human experience to use as comparison.” Connor nods thoughtfully, finally seeming to lose sight of the attraction of her blushing as he turns front again. They all pretend not to hear the relieved sigh Conan lets out.

  
“Not really, though you probably just have to wait it out.” Hank glares through the cruiser window at Harris, then turns back to the trio for a moment before climbing in to the cruiser. “We'll have the medtech on shift have a look at him if he's still like that when you get back to the station.”

  
“Thanks,” Rheesa calls out, and Hank waves as he pulls the door closed then takes off. Conan and Connor have made it down the steps and halfway to the boulevard, and she hurries to join them. “Conan, do you figure I'm okay to drive? I've probably got a bit of a concussion.”

  
The android looks over his shoulder, still managing to move Connor forwards as his LED flickers yellow once as he scans her, then he shrugs. “You should be fine. It's only thirty eight minutes to the station, and your car has self-driving settings if need be, yes?”

  
She nods, walking to join them and grasp Connor’s arm gently. “Alright honey, let's get you somewhere you can sit down and you don't have to do anything unless you want to, yeah?” His nose scrunches like he's displeased with the idea, and she can't help but laugh a little at the expression. Rheesa hurries across the street to her car, pulling open the back door. Conan nudges Connor in, then slides in next to him. Connor is still wearing that expression, so she leans in, touches his arm to get his attention. Woeful brown eyes are turned on her, and she wants to wrap him in a hug again. “Don't worry Connor, it'll be alright.” He nods after a brief hesitation, and she smiles at him, moving back to close the door on the two androids.

  
She waves to Chris who’s stopped for a moment to watch them through one of the house’s windows, then climbs into the car herself. As she settles back into the driver's seat, pauses, finally acknowledging the faint headache and fatigue that've been present since she woke up, and a minor pain on the inside of her right wrist, from pulling at her handcuffs.

  
Yeah, they're all going to be alright.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _this was going to be a fun chapter_   
>  _this was going to be Rheesa beating Reed back down where he belongs when he gets all arrogant_   
>  _this has stopped being fun_   
> 

“You need lessons on escaping cuffs?” Reed asks, leaning close on the edge of her chair, cup of coffee clutched carefully in one hand. If she knew him less than she does, Rheesa would, maybe, be tempted to take the question as the offer it’s worded to be. But alas, she’s known the detective for fifteen years - they started at the Police Academy at the same time - and she knows well that he’s fishing for an opportunity to lord the experience and superior know-how he thinks he has over her.

She pastes a bright smile on her face and turns, focusing her gaze on the man's face. "Oh, sure Reed!" she says, probably overdoing the faux excitement a little. He hasn't realized yet. "Shall we start with where you keep a spare key for your handcuffs? I'd love to hear your choice of an accessible yet concealed spot, maybe there is something to learn!" Ah, there it is - the smirk has been overtaken by a frowny face as Reed scoffs and turns away, heading for the breakroom with his mug clutched tightly. It isn't any more than half empty if she's been paying attention, so he's using it as an excuse to leave. That's just fine. Rheesa's smile softens and she twists her chair around a little to look at Connor again.

"Nice one kid," Hank grumbles, hiding a smile of his own behind his smoothie cup.

"It's been a while since he’s given me such a beautiful chance to make him turn tail," she replies. “It’s like he keeps forgetting we graduated in the same class and that I made detective three years before he did.”

“And all Reed’s got to pass as a home life is a shitty apartment and an asshole cat.”

Her smile fades a bit at Hank’s comment, even though she knows he’d purposefully worded it the way he did, placing the focus on Gavin’s empty home and not her own. The large hand falling on her shoulder tells her that he knows where her mind’s gone in the moment she’s been quiet, and she musters up a smile again for Connor and Conan, but it doesn’t feel as real anymore.

“Alright, let’s finish up these reports so you kids can get out of here,” Hank offers and Rheesa nods quickly.

With the help of two advanced androids, the work goes quickly, and they’re all logging off terminals and packing up just over an hour later. Connor doesn’t ask about the turn in her mood, likely because of some silent indication from Hank, and Conan follows his brother’s lead in not touching that subject. Reed doesn’t bother the four of them either, beyond throwing a sneer towards them that Rheesa suspects belies a sense of loneliness, and she’s stepping out the station’s door behind Hank and the androids with barely another personal word being spoken.

Hank lays his arm across her shoulders quickly, giving her a brief squeeze just before leaving her to climb into her car, the RK androids following him like a pair of golden retrievers. She shakes her head and sets her car to auto-drive to the house, settling back into her chair as the heating kicks in.

All she’s got at home are two and a half beds that’ve been empty for years, and an android who’s become far more like a sister than Rheesa had initially anticipated.

It's not _bad,_ but it’s much less than she used to have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO... *ahem* had the idea for Reed to be a rude, cocky mess and for my girl to be taking None Of That  
> and then it kept going from there, and I was like 'sure brain, let's leave some hints as to the Tragic Backstory i thought up'  
> i keep hurting this poor girl  
> someone please take her away from me


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pretty much filling out an idea I had because ~~I love hurting this poor girl~~ I wanted to expand Rheesa's 'backstory' a bit  
>  therefore not so much of the actual DBH characters in here, they aren't the focus anymore. they're just side/background characters

"Detective Smith," Connor calls, voice floating easily across the bullpen to where Rheesa has just exited the breakroom. She blinks and plants her feet, focusing on the android. He's standing unusually still, fingers clasped together, and Conan hovering half a step behind, shoulders not quite in line with Connor's. She should maybe be concerned about the way both androids are gazing steadily at her, but she's too tired to work up an appropriate amount of worry right now. "After your assistance to myself when we worked together on that Missing Persons case two weeks ago, I wanted to do something to express my gratitude. The Lieutenant told me a little more about you, and I also enlisted Conan's help."

"You've been- terribly kind, and helpful to me since I came to Central Station," Conan interjects, apparently wanting or needing to explain his involvement in Connor's scheme. Rheesa musters up a smile for the young android, giving him a brief nod. It was a duty she'd been happy to take on, considering the poor thing had been paired with Reed not four days into his employment here. The kid had been in need of support and assistance, and she had found herself in need of a worthwhile distraction.

"Anyway," Connor says, rolling his eyes in a well-practiced motion and managing to look annoyed at the interruption while still sounding perfectly polite. "We may have overstepped a few personal boundaries, but I think you'll be quite content with the result." She's… confused. For all the words Connor has said within the past thirty seconds, he really hasn't explained much at all.

Fingers on top of her own drag her gaze sideways, and she quickly adopts a frown as her favourite mug full of fresh coffee is gently pried from her grip. "Hey, Hank, come on. It's only decaf, you know that I…" She trails off at the gesture Hank makes, nodding back towards the androids while he retreats with her coffee, his expression a shuffle of emotions she can't pick apart in the moment. With a sigh, Rheesa turns back to Connor and Conan, hands drifting down toward her hips-

Except she's staring in shock, hands flying up to cover her mouth. This- But she thought- she-

"Is thi-" she croaks, throat closing up, unable to tear her eyes away.

Hank sets one hand on her shoulder, pushes her forward ever so gently, like she'll fall apart if touched with too much force. "It's real kid, they're real," he says quietly, anticipating the remainder of her failed question.

Rheesa glances sideways to him, sees his honest, serious expression, and then she's looking back to the space between the androids. Her knees hit the floor not a second later, tears burning behind her eyes as feelings bubble up within her entire body. Because in the space between the two androids is- are three people she'd come to think she would never-

She flings her arms open as two pairs of little feet pound across the floor, accompanied by cries of "Mama!" With two bodies clutching her as tightly as she's holding on to them, Rheesa thinks it's the most beautiful sound she's ever heard, made all the sweeter by the fact that it's been over seventeen months since she's heard her little angels' voices in person.

"Liam, oh Liam, and Kate, my Katie baby. Oh my darlings," Rheesa whispers, knowing as she buries her face in their blond curls that she's almost babbling, but it _doesn't matter._ They found them, Connor and Conan _found_ them. Those boys brought her family back.

Rheesa lifts her head just far enough to look past her kids, just far enough to look past them to Benny. He's watching from where he sits in her desk chair, clasped hands covering his mouth and eyes at least as wet as her own. There's an old boot-cast on his right foot, a pretty good reason why he hasn't joined them on the floor- But she wants to hold him, wants to twist their fingers together, lay kisses across his cheeks, huddle with him around their children.

"Mama," Liam says, drawing her attention back down. Kathryn's little hands are on Rheesa's face as the girl studiously brushes tears away. "Don't cry mama, you don't hafta be sad anymore."

She cups the back of Liam's head in one hand, pulls Kathryn closer with the other to lay a kiss on her forehead. She meets Benny's gaze again, gives him a tremulous smile. "I'm crying because I'm happy, baby. I am so, so happy right now."

Footsteps sound beside her, but Rheesa can't be bothered to move her eyes away from her love. She doesn't have to, because Hank starts to speak anyways. "Take your family home kid," he says, the order soft.

 _Home._ But wait, there's another person in her little family. "Does Tif-" Rheesa starts to ask, but the redhead steps up to Benny's side.

"Tif knows," the android announces cheerfully. "I've already got your car keys, too."

"Go ahead Rheesa." She looks up to Hank finally, sees emotion blatant on his face - happiness, compassion, a hint of longing. "I don't want to see you here any sooner than Monday morning, and neither does Fowler. Get out of here. Take those kids back to their home."

A small laugh spills out of her mouth, sharing sound with her tears. "Yes sir," she says, even though it's only Tuesday and she can't remember if she's even got that many vacation days stored up. "Yes, I can do that." She kisses Kathryn's head again, then Liam's, then grins at Benny. She adjusts her hold on the kids, then pushes off the floor, picking them both up at the same time. Liam squeaks, Katie giggles, and they both throw their arms around her shoulders, holding on tightly. Benny is staring at them, practically ignoring Tif trying to help him up while Rheesa carries their kids across the bullpen to him. It's easier than it should be to lift them both, but she's going to overlook that in favour of Benny's awed expression at her show of strength.

Rheesa glances sideways as she reaches the androids, looking first at Conan then Connor, smiling. "Thanks," she says, quietly, but she's sure they hear, the hint of a blue blush spreading across each of their faces. If she thought she were physically capable of letting go of her children, she'd hug them both, tell them more - like how it's incredible Connor picked up a cold, dead-end case, dragging his younger brother along to solve it and locate her family, then bring them back to the station, all just to say thank you.

She's beyond grateful - but probably wouldn't be able to form any the words she'd like to say to them.

Benny curls a hand around the back of her neck, leans in to bump their foreheads together. She can tell that she's starting to cry again, feels her shoulders shake beneath the soft weight of her kids' arms.

"Don't worry Mr. Hank," Tif says, her voice wafting past the huddle, "neither of them are driving. I've got the newest programs, and my license."

"Dear god," Benny murmurs, in teasing horror. He's smiling though, all damp cheeks and sparkling eyes and soft lips. Beautiful. They're all beautiful, all three of them, and they're hers. They're hers again, they're safe, and they're all going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter, though that one's even MORE self-indulgent, so to speak, to finish tying this thing in to my original fiction  
> so yeah


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS BASICALLY SUPER SELF-INDULGENT  
> NO DETROIT CHARACTERS ARE IN HERE, EITHER BY MENTION OR ACTUAL APPEARANCE

It should be awkward, uncomfortable, the way she's sprawled back across Benny's chest with her kids koala'd onto her sides and half her body without a single layer of blanket, but somehow it isn't. It's perfect. It's what she's needed, what she's been missing the last seventeen months, and while she's grown to consider Tif a little sister over that time, cuddling with the android just wasn't ever the same.

She sighs, runs her hand over Liam's head. The boy leans into the touch but doesn't make a sound. She's missed her kids and now she has them again, and they're all sleeping in a pile in the entertainment room, even Tif curled up on the floor on Liam's other side.

Rheesa smiles gently, knowing she's drifting towards sleep. They're safe, and they're together, all five of them.

A sound breaks the quiet. It sounds like it's coming from her phone. She blinks, frowning at the idea of forcing her kids to move to allow her to get to it - but this isn't the Captain's ringtone, or Hank's, or Connor's or Conan's or Ben's. They can wait until the morning then, whoever they are.

She blinks, eyelids heavy. As the sound continues, it seems less like a ringtone, and more like proper music. Maybe one of the others had turned the radio on before they lay down, tuned to a soft station… a lullaby station, because that's what this song is.

It's one she's familiar with, the words Irish Gaelic and while she doesn't know enough of the language to translate, she knows vaguely what it means. It means going home, it means being right where you belong. It means love, and remembering the ones who love you, and trusting that they are guiding you.

It's a lullaby that she remembers - though 'remember' doesn't quite feel like the right word.

That's okay, because, as she settles her head back on Benny's shoulder, it feels right.

She closes her eyes, and feels like she drops immediately into a dream, figures and things briefly appearing - a green gown, a twisted ring - a set of keys, a gemstone pendant - an old car, an ancient forest overtaken by darkness, a pale blue candle, a pristine abandoned boarding school…

There's a voice speaking to her, words she doesn't know, words she's heard before. The voice is calling, reminding her there isn’t much time and that she has to let go - and she does, she finally _truly_ does, falling down into the song, falling into - through - the voice's arms, releasing all the stress and fears and need for control as she falls…

She knows she's going home - for real this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS ME LOOKING AT MY POOR GIRL AND GIVING HER A MOMENT OF PEACE AND TYING THIS LIL FIC IN TO THE ORIGINAL STORY, BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF SENDING HER BACK TO HER ACTUAL REALITY  
> that's  
> that's like, literally all this is  
> SUPER THANKS TO ANYONE WHO STUCK THROUGH THIS SUPES RANDOM FIC ALL THE WAY TO THE END HERE?!!!  
> seriously I think posting fanfics is an addiction or something, I just want to come up with more ideas and write them and post them because people actually read them, it's crazy, but kind of crazy cool.  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> thank you thank you thank you, all you lovely humans who took the time to read through this thing


End file.
